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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Serial. You hear the score and you know another piece of this emotional story is about to begin.

The world became immersed in Sarah's investigative journalism into what key players remember from the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and the consequent arrest and conviction of her former boyfriend, Adnan Syed.

Serial intrigued me.

This investigation was not fiction, the details of the case effected (and continued to effect) a group of lives which were changed drastically in 1999 and were urged to ask and recall difficult recounts from 15 years ago.

Storytelling.

Prior to Serial, there was NPR's StoryCorps, TED talks and This American Life. All of these had one thing in common: the people and their stories.

The stories are full of emotion: happiness, sadness, confusion, excitement! I mean, ALL of the FEELS!

I've heard stories of forgiveness, confrontation and love. All of these stories made me want to grab a microphone and stand down on Lincoln Road and just hear stories. Stories of hope, fear, triumph and just LIFE in general!!

Except for that One Thing!

As I was listening to 518: Except for That One Thing today I started thinking about my stories and how I can share them with you guys. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to share a story and how perfect it was ...except for that one thing!

It'll be fun, I promise!!

I'm excited and have at least three stories already going in my head!!

Please feel free to share your stories in the comments below. I'm looking forward to sharing a little more and getting a chance to get to know you guys as well :)

Sunday, January 4, 2015

So thankful for all of the lessons and memories that 2014 brought. On December 23rd as I got ready to drive to my last official workday, I could not help but thank God for being Jehovah Jireh--The Lord Who Provides!!Sometimes you need to stop and just take a moment to reflect on where you were and where God brought you to. In March of 2014--after many prayers, supplications and even tears, God made a way and brought me into an organization that I've grown to love and a group of ambitious, passionate people that I have grown to admire!! Our agency was kind enough to allow us the opportunity to work remotely from Christmas Eve until January 5th. I took this opportunity to have a mini vacay to my parents' house with Miss Lulu in tow.

On Christmas Day and everyday we are forever grateful for the King who came to Earth as a baby and brought Hope and Salvation a world who so desperately needed it. We continued with my family's tradition of attending Christmas Eve church service and open gifts on Christmas.

In addition to the distribution of gifts we sat down to a delicious Pioneer Woman inspired Sunday Frittata customized with the veggies and deliciousness that I had on hand: asparagus, peppers, onions and chicken sausage filled with spinach and cheese. In the midst of the excitement, laughter and joy-- my picture taking was minimal to say the least. I managed to capture just a few photos from a quick photo shoot with Lulu and I before the day ended.

I'm not too sure how amused Lulu was by all of the photos but I loved them!! My entire family loves Lulu and she is just eating up all of the attention and petting she is receiving all day, everyday!

The days between Christmas and New Years Day consisted of catching up on TV (I have no cable sooooo.....yeah, soaking up all my faves while I'm "home") and an occasional venturing out to area stores and spending time with my beautiful sister.

New Years Eve

Another family tradition that I love is ringing in the new year in prayer. God does so much for us and I really enjoy hearing the testimonies of how great He has been during the course of the year. The testimonies are encouraging and remind me that God is definitely active in the smallest of details in our lives.

Isn't that delightful and reassuring? He is present and active!

2015---

I know many people say that they don't make resolutions and they 'hate' the "new year, new me" posts but honestly I enjoy them. While I think that you shouldn't wait until the new year to make changes in your life, I'm happy to hear the plans that my friends and family have laid out for themselves.

A couple of nights before NYE I jotted down a few things that I really wanted to focus on during 2015. Things that will benefit me spiritually, professionally, financially and emotionally. While I'm not ready to share the details of the list, I can assure you that I've begun the research into some of these things and feeling pretty excited!

On January 2nd my sister, cousins and I ventured up to the Amway Center in Orlando, FL to cheer on the Brooklyn Nets to victory against the Orlando Magic. Brooklyn is our birthplace and it was fun to cheer and share this moment with my family! We had a blast!!

Highlights

* The Brooklyn Nets won at the last 2 seconds of the game with a score of 100-98. Soooo close! I lost my voice but was really happy we left with the W.

* I tweeted the Brooklyn Nets during the game and our post/picture got retweeted. Corny but we loved it.

* The Orlando Magic Drumline are great performers. They performed during halftime and then again post-game right outside the arena. Energetic and talented.

*Nick Anderson. We got a chance to watch the live reporting by Fox Sports commentator Nick Anderson. We chatted with him for a while and got some great advice/wisdom from him.

As you can see from our smiling faces above we had a blast! I'm off to bed so that I can be ready for the first Sunday of the new year. I'm still up with my family and looking forward to treasuring the Sunday morning before heading back down to South Florida. How was your holiday season? Did you have a good time? Any family traditions you'd like to share??Leave your comments and answers below :) Until next time,

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Bonsoir! Have you ever stepped back and looked at a certain situation or day in your life and think you should be the lead actor/actress in the newest sitcom?! No?? Just me? That's alright--cause that's exactly what I'm going to do. My life is hilarious. Blessed beyond measure but hilarious. Sometimes I stop and have a good laugh at my quirkiness, my randomness and the cast of characters I meet on the daily. I'm an Elite Yelper, I'm sure you've heard me make mention of it... here, here and oh yeah, here! I apparently blurt out this fact when I'm totally at a loss for words. That and my views on counties I've never resided in. Yelp is kind of my thing lately--for the past three years actually--and its given me the opportunity to meet some really fascinating people and to step a bit out of my comfort zone with cuisines and experiences that I'd otherwise pass on. As they did last year, my Yelp Community has put together a challenge of Firsts. From now until the end of the year, think of ten things you would really like to experience, learn or discover that you have not yet had a chance to.

Rachel M's 2014 Yelp First

1. Paddleboarding-- I live in SoFla and have seen and admired (from afar) all the novice paddleboarders and have toyed with the idea of a Groupon and the open waters. As it is I have balance issues on land so this will definitely be interesting. ::zips up life jacket::

2. Dine at an Ethiopian restaurant-- This year I've tried Vietnamese food for the first time and loved it. Thanks to Yelp my palate has expanded beyond rice and beans and I'm psyched to try a new cuisine.

3. Reach Intermediate Level of Conversational French. Sigh. My dad has been trying for decades now to really get my French proficiency up and I'm happy to say I'm committing to it! "Fier de moi, papa?"

4. Take a dance class. Bachata. Kompa. Salsa. Would love to brush up on my dance skills!

5. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and the Literacy Coalition.

6. Ride a bike! No comments.

7. Successfully grow a patio garden. Started earlier this year and it bombed.

8. Evangelize with my church's outreach group.

9. Read the entire book of Psalms.

10. Take a historical tour of Broward/Palm Beach.

I'll keep you all posted on the success of this endeavor!

Are there anythings you'd like to try/accomplish before 2014 comes to an end??